Opinion by Julie Brown: “Once a bear is known for breaking into homes, wildlife officials have to intervene. The options for Hank, once trapped, are few and grim.”
The Lake Tahoe Basin is home to about 40,000 people who live here full time, according to pre-pandemic numbers. Some 15 million people visit every year. Tahoe typically sees at least three times as many visitors as Yosemite National Park, where park rangersall edible items, even toothpaste, to be stored in bear-proof containers. Vacationers to Tahoe might not realize the vigilance necessary to keep bears outside and human food inside.
When I came to clean up the next morning, after a neighbor alerted us, the evidence of the invasion was all over the kitchen. Mostly, I remember the ripped bag of flour and the layer of white everywhere, the mounds of food pulled off the pantry shelves. The refrigerator door was still wide open. Muddy streaks were left behind.When a bear finds a food source, it will come back again.